Coronavirus Cases in U.S. Are Rising, Even as Death Rates Trend Down – The New York Times

Mr. Abbott, a Republican, had previously opposed attempts by Democratic mayors and other local officials to require everyone in their cities to wear masks in public.

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday that travelers from 15 states with large outbreaks would have to quarantine for two weeks or face up to $7,000 in fines. In Los Angeles County, Calif., where there are more than 2,000 new cases most days, the top public health official said we urgently need to make a change in the trajectory. And in Northern California, where the outlook is also bad, leaders in several counties urged residents to celebrate the Fourth of July at home and not test the limits of the law.

Just because you can does not mean it is safe or that you should rush to do it, said Dr. Matt Willis, the Marin County public health officer.

President Trump plans to celebrate the Independence Day holiday with a fireworks display on Friday at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. About 7,500 people are expected to attend the outdoor event, where masks will be available but not required.

As the United States headed into the Fourth of July weekend, officials were telling people to hold the partying until next year. The coronavirus has exploded in large parts of the nation: On Thursday, the U.S. set a single-day case record for the sixth time in nine days, with more than 50,000 new cases reported for the first time, according to a New York Times database. The figure topped 55,000 by the end of the day.

Thursdays daily new case total represented an increase of more than 85 percent since two weeks ago, when states were reopening after extensive lockdowns tempered the outbreak, particularly in the hard-hit Northeast. Until last week, the country had not surpassed a record daily total for two months, since 36,738 new cases were reported on April 24.

In a reversal, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, one of the worst-hit states in the past week, on Thursday ordered residents in counties with 20 or more virus cases to wear masks in public.

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Coronavirus Cases in U.S. Are Rising, Even as Death Rates Trend Down - The New York Times